Savor Summer! Learn How to Freeze ANY Kind of Fruit

There’s nothing like the flavor of fresh fruit — and nothing like the disappointment of spoiled fruit. By learning how to freeze fruit, you can preserve your favorite flavors so that you can still enjoy them in the off-season. This comprehensive guide will show you how!

Whether you’d like to freeze blueberries for smoothies or peaches for later use in pies, you can safely store your favorite fruits for months in the freezer. Click the orange heart above to “Favorite” this page and save it for reference!

5 things you need to know about freezing fruit

Before we get into individual fruit-freezing techniques, let’s discuss a few important basics.

1. You can only preserve flavor, not texture

While freezing fruit does preserve flavor, it doesn’t quite preserve the texture. Fruits have a very high water content, and once frozen, the water expands, altering the cell structure. When defrosted, the fruit never has quite the same texture as fresh.

For this reason, frozen fruit is generally not appropriate for out-of-hand eating. But when used as an ingredient — say in jam, pie filling or in smoothies — the frozen fruit will still taste great.

Some say that sprinkling fruit with sugar or storing it in a sugar glaze solution, can help preserve the texture. For today, we’ll focus on freezing fresh fruit as-is, so that you’re not limited in your uses later on.

2. Use acid to prevent browning

Briefly dipping certain fruits (such as apples) in a slightly acidic solution can help keep them from turning brown.

Lemon juice is my preference, but it’s not your only option. You can also use any acidic juice, such as pineapple, orange, lemon or lime juice, either undiluted or with some water added. For instance, you could dip your fruit in a a bowl of cold water mixed with a few teaspoons of lemon juice.

3. Blanch the fruit to keep it colorful

Blanching is a technique of briefly boiling an ingredient, then plunging it in a bath of ice water. It helps preserve the color and texture of certain fruits before freezing.

4. Pre-freeze the fruit to prevent clumping

Pre-freezing refers to chilling the fruit on a baking sheet before transferring it to a storage container. This prevents the fruit from sticking together in a big icy mound once in storage.

To pre-freeze, scatter fruit in a single layer on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm — 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on the fruit. Then, transfer the fruit to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze.

5. Use your frozen fruit in 3 to 6 months

Some online sources say you can freeze certain fruits for up to a year, but I personally find that most fruits lose their flavor after 6 months. For the fruits in this post, I recommend 3 months (for more delicate fruits) to 6 months.

How to freeze 40 types of fruit

Here’s your comprehensive guide to freezing all kinds of fruit.

Apples

Peel, core and slice your apples.

Rub the exposed fruit with lemon juice.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Apricots

Blanch apricots for about 20 seconds, then plunge in ice water and strain. This prevents the skins from becoming firm and tough during the freezing.

Pat dry and, if desired, remove the skins.

Slice in half and remove the pits.

Rub the exposed fruit with lemon juice.

Pat dry and pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container

Freeze for up to 3 months.

Avocado

Storing in halves:

Cut the avocado in half; remove the peel and the seed.

Rub the exposed fruit with lemon juice.

Putt into an airtight container or freezer bag. (No need to pre-freeze.)

Storing as purée:

Purée the avocado.

Mix in a few drops of lemon or lime juice to prevent browning.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

Bananas

Bananas are actually easy to freeze in a variety of ways. Choose extremely ripe bananas, as their flavor will preserve best.

Remove the peel, and decide if you want to save the bananas whole, cut into chunks or puréed.

If freezing them whole or in chunks, pre-freeze. No need to pre-freeze purée.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Blackberries

Wash and pat dry.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Note: Berries can really benefit, texture-wise, from adding a little sugar before freezing. If desired, toss the berries with sugar (about 1/3 cup per pint) before pre-freezing.

Blueberries

Wash and pat dry.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Cherries

Wash your cherries.

Remove the stems and pits.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Coconut

Remove the husk.

Drain (and save) the milk. The liquid can also be frozen for up to 6 months, in a separate container.

Cut the white coconut “meat” into hunks or shred it.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Dried coconut can also be frozen: Simply place it in an airtight container and store for up to 6 months. No need to pre-freeze.

Cranberries

Wash and dry the cranberries.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Cucumbers

Slice the cucumbers and remove the skin if desired.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer slices to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

Note: A cucumber will absolutely lose its texture when frozen — it won’t have any crunch. Instead, consider making freezer pickles, which are said to retain crunch (here’s a recipe).

Melon (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.)

Cut the melon and remove the tart-tasting area between the rind and the fruit flesh.

Cut into strips or cubes.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Nectarines

Cut into chunks, removing the pits.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Oranges

Either cut the oranges into pieces, or unpeel and separate the sections.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Papaya

Remove the skin and the seeds from the papaya.

Cut into strips or pieces.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Passionfruit

Cut the passionfruit, and spoon the flesh out into small portions.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Tip: For an easy way to keep the passionfruit in small portions, spoon the fruit into an empty ice cube tray, and pre-freeze the portions in it. Transfer the frozen cubes of fruit to an airtight container before freezing.

Peaches

Cut into chunks, removing the pits.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Pears

Peel, core and slice.

Rub the exposed fruit with lemon juice.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Plantains

Start by choosing extremely ripe plantains, as their flavor will preserve best.

Remove the peel, and decide if you want them whole, cut into chunks, or puréed.

If freezing whole or in chunks, pre-freeze. No need to pre-freeze purée.

Raisins / dried currants

Note: Raisins and dried currants freeze beautifully, with minimal effect to their texture. To make your life easier later, divide into individual portions (or common amounts used in recipes).

Raspberries

Cut into pieces, or leave whole.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Strawberries

Remove the stems. Cut or leave the berries whole.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

Tomatoes

Blanch the tomatoes for 1-2 minutes, then plunge in an ice water bath.

Let dry, and cut into chunks or pieces if desired.

Pre-freeze.

Transfer to an airtight container.

Freeze for up to 6 months.

One Comment

Sheila ZachariaeAugust 16th, 2017

Great post, thank you. May I add….when choosing some fruits at the store, give it a sniff. If it doesn’t smell like, say, a strawberry, it won’t taste like one. Same goes for peaches.
Oh, and also on strawberries… the farther apart the seeds, the sweeter the berry.
Sheila Zachariae
Independent knitwear pattern designer